How to Change COM Port Number on USB Modem, Windows 10

One pesky problem with Windows 10, as well as the earlier versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system, is that the COM port assignments for devices that use them, often change. In this post, we show how to change COM port number on USB modem back to what it was before. Or, you can do this to changed assigned port number at will to any unused port you desire.

A USB modem for example, may start off being assigned to COM3 when you plug it in right out of the box. But that assignment can (and often does) change to COM4 or some other COM port, any time the modem is unplugged and reconnected, the computer restarts, a new version of a device driver is installed, a different USB port is used, certain Windows updates are installed, and a myriad of other possible port reassignment triggers.

Of course, when the modem COM port changes, any program that relies on the modem listening on the original COM port, no longer functions correctly. The solution is to change the modem COM port back to the one it was originally using, and the procedure below demonstrates how to do this.

How to Change COM Port Number on USB Modem, Windows 10

1. Plug USB Modem into Working USB Port on Windows 10 Computer

You won’t be able to change its COM port settings if it’s not connected to your machine when you try.

2. Bring up Device Manager Window

You can find Device Manager in Control Panel, or enter the word -Device- into Cortana’s search box. This brings up a link to -Device Manager- (usually the first one) in the results list. Tap that link, and you’ll see a screen similar to the shot in the next picture.

How to change COM port number on USB modem. Windows 10 Device Manager screen, with the Modems entry highlighted.

3. Find the Modems Device Group Item

The purple arrow points at the Modems group in the last picture.

Then, tap / click the downward pointing arrow immediately to the left of that entry. This expands the Modems device group, as shown in the next picture, revealing any modems currently connected to and operating correctly on your computer. In this demo, we only have one USB modem connected, as listed.

4. Double Click the Entry for the Modem to Change

In our demo here, we’re changing the COM port for the Agere Systems USB 2.0 Soft Modem. So, we double click the entry for that modem, and this brought up the Windows 10 device configuration screen for this modem, as shown next.

5. Then, Click / Tap the Advanced Tab

The purple arrow points at the Advanced tab in the last picture. The configuration window then redraws itself to show the advanced configuration options for this particular modem, as shown in the next picture.

6. Tap / click the Advanced Port Settings Button

The purple arrow in the last picture points at the Advanced Port Settings button. Doing so brings up the -Advanced Settings for COMx- window, as shown next. The actual COM port number that is currently assigned to the modem replaces the x in COMx here. In our demo here, this window is for COM4. Thus, we see that our modem is currently assigned to COM4, although we wish to assign it to COM3.

How to change COM port number on USB modem. Advanced COM port settings screen on Windows 10, with the COM Port Number selector control highlighted.

7. Expand the COM Port Number Pop-up Combo Box

Do that by tapping / clicking the downward pointing arrow immediately to the right of the port number. We’ve drawn a purple arrow in the previous picture, pointing at this expander button in the previous picture. When you expand the list, you get a complete list of available COM ports that this modem may use, as shown in the next picture.

How to change COM port number on USB modem. -Advanced COM Port Settings- screen on Windows 10, showing the -COM Port Number- control, expanded, with the current COM port (COM4) highlighted in blue, and the desired COM port (COM3) pointed at by the purple arrow.

8. Tap / Click the Desired New Port number in the List

You may have to scroll up or down in the list to find the port you want. In our demo, we’re assigning our modem to COM3. So we tap COM3 in the list, as shown in the previous picture, pointed at by the purple arrow. This then collapses the expanded port list back down to a single entry in the -COM Port Number- field, showing the new port number we chose. We’ve changed our modem to COM3, as shown in the next picture.

10. Press the OK Button on the Device Configuration Screen

This applies the new COM port assignment to the modem, and closes that window, once again revealing the Windows 10 Device Manager window, as shown in the next picture.

How to change COM port number on USB modem. -Device Manager- screen on Windows 10, with the Exit option highlighted.

11. Exit the Device Manger Window

Exit either via its file->Exit menu item as shown in the previous picture, or by tapping / clicking its -Close- button, found in the top right corner of the window (the X button). Your COM port reassignment for the modem is now complete.

With the COM port successfully changed, we recommend that you close and restart any program(s) that use the modem, and, if necessary, change the COM port settings in said program(s) to match the port number we just set up.